The parent firm of Philippine Airlines is studying a re-IPO or another initial public offering next year to raise more funds and comply with the public float requirement of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“If we will be required, I understand it’s not a requirement yet. It’s only a requirement for newly-listed companies but for existing companies, we can stay with the minimum requirement of 10 percent,” PAL Holdings president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista told reporters.
“We will implement it next year [or] if the SEC will require it to be mandatory by end of the year,” he said.
PAL Holdings’ public float currently stands at 10.32 percent, below the 20-percent requirement of the SEC for companies that will list with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
A public float refers to the portion of the issued and outstanding shares that are freely available and tradable in the market and are non-strategic in nature or those not meant for the purpose of gaining substantial influence on how the company is being managed.
The SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 13 in 2017 requiring a listed company to maintain minimum public ownership of 20 percent at all times.
Bautista also said he was expecting to close the investment transaction with ANA Holdings Inc. of Japan by early March this year.
ANA HD, the Japanese parent company of All Nippon Airways, is investing $95 million for a 9.5-percent stake in PAL Holdings.
ANA HD would acquire the shares from Trustmark Holdings Corp. which is owned by the family of billionaire Lucio Tan and is the largest shareholder of PAL Holdings. This will increase foreign ownership in the company from 8.77 percent to 18.27 percent.
Meanwhile, PAL launched its biggest seat sale promotion for the year, covering more than two million seats.
The airline offers as low as P78 for domestic and $78 for international routes. The booking dates are from March 1 to March 10, while the travel period runs from March 16 to Dec. 31, 2019.
PAL flies to 43 international and 35 domestic destinations using 95 aircraft, one of the youngest fleets in the industry within an average age of just five years.